Top 5 Flicks of 2005

[VANFLAMESFAN]

After seeing King Kong yesterday, I thought I would see what everyone else's fav movies of 2005 were. Despite heavy criticism from critics this year, I thought there were a whole bunch of solid flicks this year. These are my top 5, what are yours???

5. Star Wars Ep 3-Thought it was very dark, very cool, the final light sabre duels were awesome.

4. Batman Begins-Christian Bale was the man, but it was director Chris Nolan that made this movie, the setting he created making Gotham look the way it was supposed to was awesome. Only thing I didnt like about it was the lack of one really cool villain. But everything else about it was brilliant.

3. King Kong-Just saw this yesterday afternoon, WOW, just WOW!!! Everything about this movie was great, the story, the effects, the acting. I loved the opening sequence that Peter Jackson did, with a music montage just setting the scenes in the 1930's. Did a great job, but what made this movie were the creatures. I swear Jackson was just showing off with what he could pull off. The 3 on 1 T-Rex vs Kong fight was 10 minutes I will never forget. Unbelievable!!!

2. Sin City-A vision that I have never seen before. This movie was hilarious, brutal and brilliant all at once. So many cool characters, I cant say enought good things about Sin City.

1. Crash-This one came out earlier in the year, but it was probably the best movie I have seen in at least 5 years. Very well done, very powerful, the acting was amazing, the direction was great, if this doesnt get considered for a couple Oscars, there is something wrong with the Academy.

[troutman]

With two young children I never get to movies any more.

Some critics lists:

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=2030

http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/

I'd like to see "Broken Flowers".

[Hakan]

Here my list:

3)Murderball - entertaining documentary about quadriplegic rugby. Good narrative and better than 95% of all sports movies out there.

2) Sin City - great artistic direction, probably the best pure comic book adaptation ever.

1) Water - Deepa Mehta's stinging critique of atrophying religious dogma

Honorable mention: A History of Violence, March of the Penguins, Batman Begins

Dishonorable mention: Crash, Hitch

All in all, a pretty shabby year for movies. Alot of crap. I still haven't seen Capote and Brokeback Mountain, they look like excellent films.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by Hakan

Dishonorable mention: Crash, Hitch
.

oh.....that just hurts looking at Crash and Hitch in the same class......maybe you thought Crash was a bit overrated, but dont tell me that it wasnt well done or for that matter was as bad as Hitch.....but to each his own i guess

[octothorp]

1. Kong
2. History of Violence
3. Walk the Line
4. Shopgirl
5. Batman Begins

(the top three were really interchangeable for me--no film that really stands head-and-shoulders above the rest)

Honourable mention: Downfall; Corpse Bride; Constant Gardener

Broken Flowers was a huge disappointment for me: great idea, great casting, but just a completely underwhelming film.

But it's hard to say, because there are so many films that are supposedly released this year that I probably won't get to see until January: Brokeback, Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, The Producers, Munich, Syriana...

[Hakan]

No Crash and Hitch are not on the same level. Crash was decent but certainly does not warrant the praise that it gets from some. The drama was incredibly cooked up making it pretty laughable. From an amateur screenwriter's perspective, I thought it was crappy and 'show'ey not to mention the complete absence of a decent story structure.

Ok, racism is bad, we get it. You can make a movie that isn't a huge cluster**** of characters that you ultimately don't care about because none of them have ample screen time to be able to grow on the viewer.

But this kind of movie is what the North American audiences want. No subtletybut the movie's theme and message rammed right in your face from the beginning with hokey drama highlighted by over the top music and cheese'd out slow motion effects. I mean don't tell me you couldn't see everything coming in that movie at least 3 minutes before it happens.

[Hakan]

I'm pretty sure Downfall was from 2004. That was one of the best movies of the past 10 years.

[Frank the Tank]

Just to tick off Hakan, here is my list;

1. Crash
2. March of the Penguins
3. Batman Begins
4. A History of Violence

Those were the only good movies I saw this year. Everything else was utter crap. I finally saw Episode 3 and can't believe people actually liked that. I wish I had never ever seen 1-3 because they completely ruined one of my best childhood memories.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Hakan

No Crash and Hitch are not on the same level. Crash was decent but certainly does not warrant the praise that it gets from some. The drama was incredibly cooked up making it pretty laughable. From an amateur screenwriter's perspective, I thought it was crappy and 'show'ey not to mention the complete absence of a decent story structure.

Ok, racism is bad, we get it. You can make a movie that isn't a huge cluster**** of characters that you ultimately don't care about because none of them have ample screen time to be able to grow on the viewer.

But this kind of movie is what the North American audiences want. No subtletybut the movie's theme and message rammed right in your face from the beginning with hokey drama highlighted by over the top music and cheese'd out slow motion effects. I mean don't tell me you couldn't see everything coming in that movie at least 3 minutes before it happens.

You think Crash is the type of movie North American audiences want? I film about racism and a non-traditional story structure?

While I agree it was perhaps a bit heavy handed and predictable, I still thought it was pretty brilliant. Flawlessly acted - which is perhaps the biggest reason why it got away with some if its other weaknesses. But if this is a way of making heavy dramas accessible to a wider audience I'm all for it. The fact that the film even found an audience is a very good thing.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Hakan

I'm pretty sure Downfall was from 2004. That was one of the best movies of the past 10 years.

On metacritic, it's theatrical release date is listed as Feb. 18, 2005. Good enough for me.

[Flame On]

Revenge of the Sith
40 Year Old Virgin
Walk The Line
Batman Begins
Wedding Crashers

And of course gotta mention Ms.Congeniality 2. (Just to be clear I didn't see this I just can't believe it was made!)

As for Crash, I found it compelling, well acted and interesting issues, I guess therefore it was a good film. Has been done before though with Altman's "Shortcuts" I believe and similarly "Magnolia". The huge

cluster ****

of characters and not caring about them was more to do with it being issues in shades of grey, rather than black and white. The cop was a scum bag but was kind of losing it due to his home situation. The gangster theif was ultimately wrongly killed by the golden boy cop, his buddy thief had some good about him releasing the human traffic in the van etc. Hard to like or be dead for or against anyone in that film and I think that was part of the point was it not?

[HalifaxDrunk]

Downfall was released in 2005 in the US but came out in 2004, Metacritic had it listed as a nominee for best foreign film in thier 2004 awards.

http://www.metacritic.com/film/award...inations.shtml


1. King Kong
2. A History of Violence
3. Batman Begins
4. March Of the Penguins
5. Sin City

Honorable mention
Crash, Constantine, The Interpreter, Star Wars

Still Really want to see
Walk the Line & Narnia

[JBR]

Charo. TWICE!!

[Phanuthier]

Batman Begins had to be the best movie of the year to me. I'd putting Wedding Crashers at No 2.

Past that, there were a couple that were pretty good, but nothing that stick in my mind. Crash would be one of those... a good movie, but nothing there I don't already know.